What Does a QA Tester Do?

Have you ever experienced any of the following digital failure scenarios?

You open a website on your phone, but nothing looks right, and you can’t even navigate.
You hit ‘checkout’ on an eCommerce app on your tablet, and nothing happens.
You try to use an app on your desktop but eventually give up because it keeps crashing.

If so, you know from firsthand how frustrating it is to encounter software bugs.

For companies to thrive in our digital era, they need help from high-powered digital tools. Still, software development is complex and offers a minimal margin for error.

The high-stakes of digital product development are compounded by the fact that modern consumers have little patience for poorly developed software.

Suppose an app or website does not operate how a user expects. In that case, he will simply leave and give his business to a competitor with better software, even if the physical product or service he receives is lesser in quality.

In other words, if your company has excellent services but a clunky app, you may end up losing business to your competitor that has a great app but inferior services. It’s the sad reality of 21st-century business.

What’s the solution? Quality assurance testing. To launch a new app or website with confidence and generate sales, your company needs dedicated quality assurance testers and tools in your corner. What does a quality assurance tester do?

Here’s what your company needs to know before taking on its next digital product project.

Quality Assurance - Key to Powerful Software Development

Quality assurance is a necessary function in any industry but requires particular attention to detail in the tech world.

Digital products rely on airtight coding to deliver optimum operation. A single line of broken code can prevent a website or app from functioning correctly. That’s where quality assurance testing comes in. Still, quality assurance is not limited to checking to ensure nothing is ‘broken.’

World-class software development companies like Rootstrap set the bar much higher than merely avoiding glaring mistakes or meeting industry standards. We innovate to guarantee high performance and create the ultimate user experience.

What role do quality assurance engineers play in our software development?

What do Quality Assurance Engineers Do?

QA Engineers have many skills and on any given day, a pro software developer uses multiple programming languages, toggles between a host of open applications, and is expected to keep up with ever-evolving industry standards.

Indeed, software development is a demanding profession requiring sharp, critical thinking throughout each workday and a dedication to continual education.

Even for the best developers in the world, mistakes are inevitable. Trial and error is part of the programming process, especially when pioneering new features. Quality assurance (QA) testers monitor these growing pains as a digital product develops.

What does a QA tester do?

On a development team, quality assurance engineers exist to provide an extra set of knowledgeable eyes, test whether the product functions as it should, locate defects, and provide critical feedback.

The testing process allows QA engineers to ensure the software meets - or hopefully exceeds - the needs of a company and its target customer and determines all the bugs have been worked out before the product ships.

Catching mistakes early on in the development process saves time and money because it prevents the need for costly changes to the entire system post-launch and minimizes risks.

6 QA Testing Considerations

Quality assurance testers need to weigh several factors when assessing a software prototype to help companies get the best ROI on their digital products.

Here are six essential considerations for quality assurance engineers:

1. Performance

A well-designed web or mobile app cannot be all beauty and no brawn. Digital products need strong enough coding ‘muscles’ to handle heavy-traffic, remaining stable at a large scale.

QA performance tests include:

Load testing
Stress testing
Scalability testing
Stability testing

2. Functionality

High-tech bells and whistles are always welcome, but it has to function flawlessly for a digital product feature to make sense. Quality assurance engineers investigate all software components to ensure they respond as expected.

QA functionality tests include:

Smoke testing
Integration testing
System testing
Regression testing
User Acceptance Testing
Unit testing

3. Intuitiveness

Users will quickly become disoriented without an intuitive interface and may even exit before fulfilling their purpose for visiting your app.

A QA tester will perform a user experience (UX) audit with the target audience in mind to ensure the mobile or web application flows naturally and is easy to navigate.

4. Accessibility

Since websites and applications need to perform across a range of operating systems and devices seamlessly, accessibility is a top priority.

Accessibility audits ensure your web or mobile app will deliver a strong user experience across platforms while complying with Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.1.

5. Security

Quality assurance engineers painstakingly analyze potential security risks, stimulate attacks to identify weak points, and map out how to maximize data protection.

QA security tests include:

Source code review
Penetration testing, vulnerability scanning
Testing for sensitive data exposure and security misconfiguration

6. Automated Maintenance

Quality assurance testers look far beyond a digital product’s launch date to prepare it for long-term success. A QA engineer can create custom automation plans to simplify maintenance over time.

When assessing the above factors, professional QA engineers adhere to an exhaustive six-step process to achieve optimum user experience.

6 Steps to QA Testing

Quality assurance testing for software is much more intensive than the average proofread. The meticulous process involves a series of designing, performing, and re-preforming highly technical tests.

Here are the six phases of quality assurance testing:

(1) Analysis

The process starts with creating a preliminary outline determining the product’s goals, objectives, and specifications.

(2) QA Test Planning

The engineers then strategize testing, defining the scope, budget, methods, tools, work distribution, and deadlines.

(3) Test Design

The QA team creates a testing framework, determining desired results, and deciding how to measure error and functionality.

(4) Testing and Reporting

- The software is tested at API and UI levels to check for bugs.

(5) Re-Testing

The testing is repeated after the bugs from the first test have been worked out.

(6) Run Release Test

The QA engineers, verify that changes have not compromised the software’s functionality and that it’s stable and ready to launch.

Ironically, there is also software that exists to aid in testing new software prototypes as they develop.

Manual vs. Automated QA Testing

While there is no replacement for manual QA testing done by humans, automated QA testing is helpful in certain instances.

Hands-on, manual QA services are a good fit for companies who prefer an engineer to monitor their product’s functionality and performance manually, unearthing bugs without automation.

Automated QA testing is a logical choice for companies who need to fast-track the process. In this case, a QA team will run automated tests to reveal how the product is performing.

Whether opting for manual or automated quality assurance software testing, there are noteworthy benefits to the development process.

Benefits of QA Testing Digital Products

Digital product failure is a modern business faux pas that can deliver a blow to your company’s bottom line and reputation. Investing in professional QA testing services can save your company from the risk of wasting precious resources on developing an ultimately dysfunctional app.

Here are just a few benefits of setting aside resources for QA testing:

Save time and money

Enlisting the help of QA experts from the planning stages ensures early detection of bugs, which conserves precious resources as the project progresses.

Release high-quality apps

With airtight coding and incredible user experience, your digital product will reflect well on your enterprise and draw, simplify operations, and attract more business.

Increase ROI

Producing high-end digital products with QA engineers’ help will yield more revenue while incurring fewer maintenance costs over time.

No application meets success without quality assurance. To create a state-of-the-art app, you need Rootstrap’s quality assurance engineers on your team.

Rootstrap Quality Assurance Services

With mature processes and a pledge to absolute transparency, Rootstrap offers premium quality assurance services for every company size.

When your company collaborates with Rootstrap, you’ll be able to trace the stability and security of the project from start to finish. You’ll be aware of every test, bug, and change. Beyond that, we’ll help prepare your product to meet with high user satisfaction and long-term success.

Rootstrap’s quality assurance services include:

Managed Testing Services - Your company authorizes the Rootstrap quality assurance team to take the reins on all QA-related activities.
Strategic QA Consulting and Advisory Services - Your company’s development teamwork with our QA team to get to the bottom of the bugs in your product. Alternatively, we can create a QA strategy for your project and oversee the testing for development duration.
Technology Partnership Services - Your company enlists a couple of our engineers for added quality assurance muscle or comes to our team for help to meet QA deadlines before a launch.

As a full-service design and development team, Rootsrap collaborates with start-ups and Fortune 100 enterprises to perform custom web, mobile, and desktop application testing. Our seasoned developers and quality assurance engineers are committed to the success of your product.